Sowell Financial Services LLC Has $1.20 Million Stock Position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN)

Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position in AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,320 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in AstraZeneca were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZN. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of AstraZeneca by 189.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,026,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,247,000 after acquiring an additional 15,722,197 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $254,018,000. Boston Partners boosted its position in AstraZeneca by 9,985.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,707,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,670,719 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AstraZeneca during the fourth quarter worth $158,018,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of AstraZeneca by 220.8% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 3,027,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,363,000 after buying an additional 2,083,645 shares during the period. 20.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AstraZeneca Stock Performance

AZN opened at $70.97 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.35. The company has a market capitalization of $220.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.38. AstraZeneca PLC has a 1 year low of $61.24 and a 1 year high of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $13.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.71 billion. AstraZeneca had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 33.14%. AstraZeneca’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.06 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AstraZeneca PLC will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AstraZeneca in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.00.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of prescription medicines. The company’s marketed products include Tagrisso, Imfinzi, Lynparza, Calquence, Enhertu, Orpathys, Truqap, Zoladex, Faslodex, Farxiga, Brilinta, Lokelma, Roxadustat, Andexxa, Crestor, Seloken, Onglyza, Bydureon, Fasenra, Breztri, Symbicort, Saphnelo, Tezspire, Pulmicort, Bevespi, and Daliresp for cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, and oncology.